Learning lessons from Duke basketball's loss to Kansas

CHICAGO—“Growth comes from experience,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said after his team’s 94-83 loss to No. 5 Kansas in the Champions Classic.

That early-season lesson isn’t something the No. 4 Blue Devils have had to learn in the past few seasons. Few teams play non-conferences schedules as difficult as Duke’s and no team has performed as well: the Blue Devils beat Michigan State and then-No. 3 Kentucky in the first two editions of the Champions Classic and haven’t lost an early-season tournament game since 2006.

So as difficult as this defeat is to stomach for the Blue Devils, who have grown accustomed to rolling through some of the best teams in the country in nonconference play, there’s an important takeaway: wins and losses when the season is so young can be overrated. Even ask the winning coach.

"The great thing about it is it matters, but in the big scheme of things it really doesn't matter,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “Basketball is so much different from football. We want to play our best ball in February and March, and the teams that you saw tonight won't be the teams you see later on.”

Although Jabari Parker—who starred in his Chicago homecoming with a game-high 27 points—quickly noted after the defeat that “winning is most important,” he added, “some of it is learning from it because it prepares us for longer stages in the season.”

Win or lose there were going to be lessons for Duke after this game, playing a top-five team that features arguably the nation’s most highly-touted freshman in Andrew Wiggins. And even if it’s not the natural thing to say after a loss: not everything Duke learned about itself was bad.

“Extending leads”

Duke led by six points early in the first half and had opportunities to build on that lead, but failed to capitalize at the free-throw line.

Krzyzewski placed no blame on the referees after the game for their officiating, saying Duke has to adjust the new rules that have games being called tighter.

Amile Jefferson said the team needs to learn how to value possessions, something the Jayhawks certainly did down the stretch. Kansas either made a field goal or went to the foul line on 21 of their final 22 trips down the court, a stretch beginning with 8:39 remaining in the game.

Save for one peculiar 3-point attempt by 7-foot center Joel Embiid and sporadic missed free throws, the Jayhawks were scoring every time down the court.

The Blue Devils would win most every game if they scored 111 points and shot more than 70 percent from the field as they did in their opener against Davidson. But that was a once-in-a-generation offensive performance, and until the next one the defense will have to adjust.

“Duke has pride. Duke doesn’t just let teams score,” Jefferson said. “We’re not going to just beat teams by outscoring them. We’re going to have to get stops.”

The sophomores are key weapons

Parker’s big performance was the biggest positive for Duke after the loss, and even though he won’t score that much every game, the team counts on him for regular production. Same goes for Hood, who scored only 11 points but also facilitated the offense with a team-high five assists.

With two potential stars in the making, and a savvy junior point guard in Quinn Cook, it’s easy to forget about sophomores Sulaimon and Jefferson.

Jefferson is an undersized five in Duke’s lineup, and his lack of a typical center’s frame is usually viewed as a weakness of this year’s team. But on multiple occasions, Jefferson was able to exploit his quickness advantage over Kansas’ post players, taking the ball at the top of the key and driving for a layup. He scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and is now 11-for-13 from the field this season.

“I’m looking to take what the defense gives me,” Jefferson said. “I’m playing with two wings—Rodney and Jabari—and they’ll find me.”

Sulaimon played 28 minutes despite not starting, and after a quiet first half in which he scored three points and was one of the players to miss a one-and-one opportunity, he came alive in the latter portion of the game.

With the Blue Devils looking for another perimeter player to find a rhythm other than Parker, they called a few sets for Sulaimon. He answered, finishing the game with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

There’s no doubt Duke has things to work on—namely foul shooting and defense. The good news: the season is only two games old, and there are plenty of positives to build on. This team got a much-needed experience from which it can grow.

“Whatever happens tonight has no bearing on what’s going to happen in March,” ESPN analyst Jalen Rose said before the game.